[Correlation of speech audiometry with the Fowler and Sabin method of hearing loss evaluation]

Evaluation of hearing losses for the purpose of granting pensions, for forensic purposes or for claims of damages is very important and it should not be based on a single examination method i.e., sound audiometry, which does not evaluate the entire auditory analyzer and does not fully appreciate the social usability of hearing. Statistical analysis and mutual correlations between monosyllabic audiometry, mixed and 3-4 syllabic audiometry and sound audiometry revealed that evaluation of hearing losses according to Fowler and Sabine correlates least with mixed verbal audiometry, although mixed verbal set-ups are typical for the Czech language as regards the structure and frequency of words. The authors recommended therefore the use of mixed verbal audiometry for the percentage evaluation of hearing losses. The actual proposal with a table of calculated hearing losses will be in a subsequent communication.